(1) Field of the Invention
This invention concerns a circular knitting machine of the kind including a first support knitting implements for making stitches, a second support with implements for making loops, which have elements for handling a ground yarn and a plush yarn, and at least one knitting system which includes a cam part section for control of the knitting implements, a cam part section for control of the loop forming implements, at least one yarn feeder for feeding the ground yarn and at least one yarn feeder for feeding the plush yarn and in which system stitches consisting of the ground yarn and the plush yarn can be formed and loops formed solely from the plush yarn can be formed.
The invention also relates to a sinker with a nose extending in a longitudinal direction and forming with an edge spaced from the underside of the sinker a longitudinal slot likewise extending in the longitudinal direction and forming with its upper edge an middle edge which is spaced from an upper edge of the sinker.
(2) Description of the Prior Art
In circular knitting machines of this kind there is frequently the need to preselect independently the size on the one hand of the stitches formed from the ground and plush yarns and on the other hand of the bows or loops formed from the plush yarn alone, in order to match the kinds of yarn used (thick, thin, crimped yarn, etc.) For this it is known (DE-PS 3 035 562) to associate with the knitting needles two-part sinkers mounted slidably in a sinker ring and to use the magnitude of the advance movement of the one sinker part to adjust the length of the plush yarn loop or bow and the magnitude of the advance movement of the other sinker part to adjust the stitch size. Similar possibilities arise in the use of circular knitting machines with dials, in which special hooks are mounted slidably (DE-AS 1 250 587), which are controlled by adjustable cam parts and serve for the selective adjustment of the lengths of the plush bows or stitches.
The use of two-part sinkers has the disadvantage that with high degrees of gauge or fineness (number of needles per inch) mechanical problems arise and the friction between the two sinker parts is appreciable. If however one-piece sinkers are used to avoid this disadvantage (DE-PS 2 824 314), it is not then possible to adjust the size of the stitches and the plush yarn loops independently of one another.